Every fifth micro-enterprise fears for its existence
Berlin The mood among micro-enterprises and the self-employed fell significantly again in October, while worries about their existence are growing at the same time. The corresponding business climate index fell to minus 25.0 points after minus 20.9 points in September, as the Munich Ifo Institute announced on Friday in its monthly survey.
“The economic slowdown is particularly difficult for the self-employed and small businesses,” said Klaus Wohlrabe, head of the Ifo surveys. “The existential worries are noticeably increasing.” Accordingly, 19.5 percent of the companies in this area currently see their economic survival threatened. This is significantly more than the 7.5 percent in the economy as a whole.
Once again, fewer companies were satisfied with their current business. The outlook for the coming months was also noticeably more pessimistic than before. This is in contrast to the economy as a whole, where the barometer for expectations had recently risen slightly, according to the researchers.
The concerns run through all sectors. “The outlook for micro-enterprises is bleak, especially in retail and the construction industry,” said the Ifo Institute. “The uncertainty among the solo self-employed and small businesses has once again surpassed the record from the previous month.”
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The energy crisis, high inflation and a cooling global economy are currently affecting the economy in Germany. In their annual report presented this week, the economic experts expect a recession for 2023.
The gross domestic product is expected to shrink by 0.2 percent. Growth of 1.7 percent is still expected for the year that is coming to an end, which is mainly due to the first half of the year, which was still good. This was still characterized by corona catch-up effects after many pandemic-related restrictions were lifted.
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